


Proper Care and Feeding of Your Shapeshifter

by xanemarths



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Shin Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Ken | Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, Fire Emblem: Shin Monshō no Nazo | Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem
Genre: Dragons, Lots of headcanon, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-17
Updated: 2017-08-24
Packaged: 2018-04-21 06:18:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4818314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xanemarths/pseuds/xanemarths
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marth has a lot to learn about dragon habits</p><p>Or</p><p>Lizard care, as noted by someone who never had to care for a lizard in his life, and certainly has no idea what to do with one who can shapeshift.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Dragon Fangs

**Author's Note:**

> Finally living up to my pseud and writing the xanemarths.
> 
> These are all basically short drabbles, largely unconnected, certainly not in any sort of chronological order. I have a lot of ideas for these that are all too short to be posted individually, and the majority of them can be described as "Marth's constant confusion over Xane's weird dragon habits", so just making one place to put all of them seemed to be a good idea.
> 
> I might end up making a Xane version of this, too. I do have plenty of ideas revolving around "Xane's confusion over this weird human". That will be a future project, though...

“I honestly cannot imagine how you have kept these a secret for so long, Xane,” Marth stated as he eyed the sharp, pointy canines protruding just slightly from the dragon’s mouth. “I know you have a special talent for shapeshifting - but I had no idea you could shift only parts of yourself, and keep them shifted for long periods of time!”

Xane shrugged, a rather nonchalant gesture after appearing so jumpy when the prince had first noticed. “I dunno, Princey. not that many humans have fangs like this. Kinda hard to blend in if you’ve got pointy teeth protruding from your mouth all the time; a lot of people would be downright terrified.”

“Well, _I_ think they’re marvelous!” Marth exclaimed, staring at the tiny fangs; indeed, the prince was grinning widely, appearing to be utterly fascinated by them. For a moment, Xane felt the shock of someone actually liking and appreciating something about them beyond their obvious shapeshifting talents - but then, this was Marth; this was the man who, besides obvious shock, hadn’t seemed to change his opinion of the shapeshifter much after discovering they were a dragon; this was the man who fought dragons, but alongside other dragons, dragons he regarded as friends and allies. Of course he would appreciate something dragon-ish.

“...May I?”

The words came, softly, and it was only then that Xane realized that the prince’s arms were extending towards them, gaze still locked on their fangs. They balked, slightly; away from Marth, away from his hands, away from the way he was looking at them. The hands pulled back slightly, and Xane reminded themself that this was Princey, of all people; if they could trust anyone to touch them and be gentle about it, it would be him. “...Fine. But be careful, will ya?”

Marth’s face lit up, and Xane had to wonder what was really so special about their teeth that the prince just had to touch them. “...They aren’t poisonous, are they? I know some reptiles have poisonous fangs, but…”

Xane shook their head, and only moments later they felt Marth’s thumbs brushing against their fangs, tracing over the slightly curved edges and the sharp tips. His fingers continued pressing in, gently forcing Xane’s mouth open as the prince examined the newly discovered fangs. It was definitely an odd sensation for the shapeshifter; they couldn’t exactly remember anyone willing to put their hands into the mouth of a dragon before.

Despite the lack of experience with others putting hands in their mouth, negative or otherwise, Xane still felt the urge to bite down, to harm or injure whatever was there before it could harm them. It took all their willpower to restrain themself from doing so; they doubted that Marth would be too thrilled if he ended up with puncture wounds in his hands, and even though instinct screamed at them that the prince’s fingers did not belong in their mouth, it wasn’t the worst, most uncomfortable feeling they had ever had, either. In the end, they contented themself with gently chewing on Marth’s thumbs while he explored, tongue poking out of the gap they had created.

“Marvelous! Wonderful! Truly impressive and beautiful!” the prince exclaimed, beaming brightly, and Xane could feel their face starting to heat up at the compliments. “Aww, don’t make me blush, Princey!” they said, even though they knew it was far too late for that. Marth had probably already noticed how red their face was…

Slowly, Marth pulled his fingers out of the dragon’s mouth, and Xane took a moment to run their tongue over all their teeth, making sure everything was in order - a small noise from the prince distracted them, and they looked back over to see Marth examining several small nicks and cuts on his fingers that could only have come from being chewed on by sharp fangs.  
“...You did say you weren’t poisonous, right? Ah, well. It’s a good thing I always keep salve and bandages in my tent, I suppose…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For everyone wondering "did they put their own hands in their mouth to write this?"
> 
> The answer is: Yes. I did.


	2. Flight; or a Lack Thereof

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Xane forgets their lack of a dragonstone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there they go

Young manaketes and dragons, Marth had quickly learned, seemed to have a habit of falling off things. He would watch as Tiki climbed a tree, or to the top of a large rock, only to start wiggling and jump off. A few times, she would catch herself before hitting the ground, small white wings extending from her back and allowing her to hover a few inches from the earth below. Most of the time, however, she would simply plummet, landing with a small “oof!” before getting up and walking away.

The first few times, it terrified him. What if the fall hurt her? She looked so terribly young… But neither Bantu nor Xane seemed especially concerned by her antics, and when, later, he tried to ask Xane about it, the dragon just shrugged. “It’s a kid thing. Part of learnin’ to fly usually involves fallin’ a lot, and even though she has no problem flyin’, it’ll still help how much control she has over her wings.”

After that, the subject seemed closed for further discussion, and Marth tried to quell his feelings of fear every time Tiki started climbing. Eventually, his fears were only a dull pang, a general worry of someone dear to him being hurt rather than an actual panic.

Until, one day, he happens to be asked where Tiki had wandered off to, and he noticed her precariously balancing on the edge of a cliff, eyes wide. Even though she was a dragon, even though she had never been injured by any fall previously, this was a much further distance to fall, and she is still a child! A fall like that could very likely kill her… “Tiki!”

Too late, as she rocks forward a little too far and goes tumbling, off the edge and down to the ground below. He is too far to catch her, too far to help -

There’s a blur of red, and Marth later thought of how he’s never seen Xane move so fast before. For now, though, he’s more concerned with the distant thud of something hitting the ground, and then, moments later, a very distinctively upset cry from Tiki.

He doesn’t think twice; within moments he’s transported to the base of the cliff via warp staff, and he hurries to check on the state of both dragons. Tiki flutters above the ground, eyes wide with shock and horror; the moment she realizes that the prince had arrived, she darts over towards him, clinging to his leg. Another distressed cry is made as her eyes dart over to a crumpled red heap, and Marth wonders why, why Xane of all people had to be the one to chase after her!

His approach is cautious, slowly kneeling down beside the shapeshifter, trying to remember every little tip and trick for healing his older sister had taught him - did they break any bones? Their spine? Their neck? Their skull?

He quickly remembers why he chose not to learn any healing arts as a child, forcing down the sick feeling rising in his stomach. His goal is to make sure that Xane -

...Is now rolling over on the ground, eyes still wide with shock, hands clenching and unclenching slowly. They look dazed, pained, and the moment they register his presence, they acknowledge it by staring up at him, and very loudly complaining, “ow.”

After all that worry, it’s a relief to see them still moving, and Marth relaxes, especially when, a few moments later, Xane begins kicking his legs, and appears to be capable of pushing themself to their feet and moving around without too much damage. “Thank the gods, Xane. I thought perhaps you had died - it was such a loud thud, and such a long way to fall…”

“I’m fine, Princey, jeez… I’m too sturdy to let a little fall like that hurt me,” Xane said, the tiniest hint of a whine as they stretched perhaps a little too far, but Marth knew the dragon well enough that if they were lying, it would be far more obvious. As much as Xane would hate to admit it, their pain tolerance wasn’t that high; something truly serious would cause the shapeshifter to whine much louder than that.

The prince shook his head and smiled in amazement, before glancing back up the cliff. “A little fall…? I can’t imagine what heights you must’ve fallen from to call that little. How did you ever expect to catch Tiki?”

There’s no answer to his question, and Marth isn’t sure why he expected one. There’s merely a silent pause as Xane blinks at him, before glancing up to the top of the cliff as well. “So, I sure hope you’ve got a rescue stave up there, or you know somethin’ about climbin’, Princey, or else we may as well be stuck down here. I don’t think Tiki’s fit to carry one of us, let alone two - she’s still a baby, after all…”

Of course, Tiki had to hear this, and immediately stop crying to tell Xane that she was NOT a baby, and Marth heaved a sigh as he signaled that everything was fine, and they really needed a way back up.

Who knew how many years it had been since Xane discarded their dragonstone; could they really still forget they didn’t have wings anymore?


	3. Rocks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the obvious occurs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can you believe I'm adding more to this after, years. I even have another chapter to add! amazing!
> 
> these were actually really old tidbits I just polished up tonight for the hell of it. maybe more shall come later. Who Knows.
> 
> Also, you might notice the pronoun change from they/them to xe/xem for Xane! I liked that headcanon, and it stuck.

Tiki really must enjoy hunting around for weird objects, Marth thinks to himself as he watches the younger dragon race around, snuffling at and picking up various items. Feathers, shiny objects, pebbles, twigs, all are collected by her to be stashed away into various piles later. Hoard building, she calls it; Marth thought dragons were more into jewelry, and when he asked her about that, she’d taken one of his (many) tiaras.

It took about an hour or so before she grows bored and came back to his side with her (rather impressive!) haul. He’s about to comment on it, praise her for how well she’d done with finding them, but he can’t even open his mouth before she thrusts out one of the sticks she’d found towards him. “For you, Marmar!” she says, enthusiastically; he smiles at her, and takes the stick gratefully, even though he’s not entirely sure what the intent of the gift was.

“Thank you, Tiki. I shall treasure it forever,” he tells her, and she puffs out her chest, proudly.

“Only the best sticks for a very best friend!”

So that’s what the sticks mean, he assumes, and he can’t help but giggle in amusement. “Of course!” Suddenly, though, the memory comes back, of Xane giving him many, many stones, claiming them as a friendly gesture, and he has to ask - “But, ah, forgive me if I’m wrong, but aren’t stones the usual presents for friends?”

Tiki looks uncomfortable for a moment, and then almost guilty, and he pales, wondering how wrong he must really be - had Xane pranked him? If so, in this moment it wasn’t worth it, if it made Tiki uncomfortable - but then she sighs, deeply, and gives him a look more fitting for someone much older and more tired than she; someone who’s been around the block and is looking to make a bargain. “I promised Xaney I wouldn’t tell you what they actually meant, buuuuuut… If you give me some rock candy, and a nice stick of my own, and don’t enforce my bedtime for a week…”

He’s terribly confused at first, as to what Xane could possibly be trying to hide from him that xe enlisted a dragon at the age of maybe human ten to keep it secret, but then it hits. Dragons in his storybooks really and truly prized fancy stones; for them, a gemstone was a gift between lovers. If that was true of divine dragon society as well, then…

He suddenly remembers the many, many gemstones and geodes Xane had given him, that he’d gratefully accepted and kept tucked away in his tent; had xe, all this time, been confessing xir love for him, and he was just too stupid to realize? Something in his heart flutters, momentarily, and it takes him a minute to realize Tiki is still expectantly waiting on an answer.

“I think I figured it out on my own now,” he tells her, “but I’ll give you candy and a stick anyway. You deserve it. Thank you.”

She grumbles at him for not getting any difference in bedtime, but the instant she has a stick of rock candy in her mouth and an impressive oak branch, she seems quite content to let Marmar know that yes, stones are a _very_ romantic gesture, and Xane’s basically pledged xir life to you and you’re married now.

* * *

“Xane. Xane. Xane. It’s very important.”

“Princey. Princey. Princey. What is it.”

For something supposedly important, Xane seems pretty casual about the whole thing thus far, giving Marth one of xir blankly neutral smiles - until he pulls out the carefully wrapped gift from behind his back, and shows it to xem.

“ _Princey_ ,” xe gasps, and Marth can tell xe’s fighting xirself not to blush, “How - where did you-?”

“At the jeweler’s in the last town,” he admits, sheepish; he wouldn’t know how to find a proper geode on his own, much less one filled with valuable gemstones. Still, it was costly enough; it’s the thought that counts? He steps closer, and Xane seems to be shaking a bit - xe doesn’t know that he knows, xe’s probably trying to tell xirself that it means nothing other than a friendly gesture, and to try and soothe that fear, Marth tells xem: “I love you, too, Xane.”

Xane takes a moment to ensure that xe is, in fact, the only Xane around, then points at xirself, just to make sure, then xe nearly falls over and it’s only luck that Marth is able to catch xem before xe hits the ground. After a moment of thought, xe glares, and asks him. “Did kiddo tell you about that?”

Marth nods, and Xane groans, but xe fusses less when he wraps them into a tight hug, melting against the prince.

“What did you give her?”

“A stick and rock candy.”

“...Thanks, kiddo.”


	4. Sweet, Sweet Pushups

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lizard pushups to attract a mate, except you're no lizard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another thing in my documents that was nearly done, that just needed some finishing touches. Also one of the gayest things I've ever written.

It wasn’t like he was doing anything different or special that day - it was just his totally normal and usual exercise routine, nothing unusual there! Princes and Kings needed to stay fit, after all, and he was no exception to that.

It was only when Xane burst in through the door that things started to get weird, but Marth supposed anything could get weird if you added Xane. The shapeshifter looked out of breath, like xe’d sprinted all the way over here at top speed, and the door was shut very quickly behind xem - a sure sign of trouble, or a prank gone wrong. “Heeeeey, Princey, Kris was gettin’ awfully insistent upon me trainin’ today, an’ for some reason apparently he doesn’t think noon is too early for trainin’, an so I…”

Xe trailed off, gaping as the scene before xem finally seemed to register; Marth wondered if, perhaps, taking a break would help ease xir mind. After all, he knew all too well that trying to force Xane to work was futile, and it wasn’t like the shapeshifter fought with xir own strength, anyway. “Oh! Yes, you’re welcome to stay,” he soothed, letting himself drop on his stomach. “I was just getting some exercise in myself, truth be told, but I can hold off until you leave, if you’d rather-”

“No, no, it’s okay,” Xane said, far too quickly. “I’m fine, I’m fine, I’ll just-” xe slumped down against the wall with an ‘oof’ “-sit here…”

Marth stayed still a moment longer, until Xane calmed down from whatever had been agitating xem before. Then, putting the incident out of his mind, he went back to doing pushups.

It didn’t take long to notice that Xane was squirming in xir seat, and he could’ve sworn he saw the hint of a blush on xir cheeks. Nothing else in the room had changed; he’d only gone from lying down to doing pushups - what could have agitated xem so? ...Was it really just that simple?

Really, it wasn’t like he was particularly well muscled - there were probably others who could long outlast him in a competition. But Xane seemed to think for the moment that his were the high point of human pushup arts, and Marth did like to please - so he began showing off.

One armed pushups were by no means easy, but damn if the reaction wasn’t worth it. Xane _squeaked_ , audibly, when Marth put a hand behind his back, and when he looked over at the shapeshifter, xir face was hidden in xir hands, eyes peeking out from between xir fingers. Even with xir face hidden from view, the tips of xir ears had gone bright red, much to Marth’s amusement. After a while, growing tired, he switched hands, and, finally, after a few more pushups, he let himself flop back to the ground.

“Uh, wow, er.” It wasn’t often that Xane went almost absolutely speechless, and Marth couldn’t help but feel just a little bit proud that he was the cause. He grinned widely at xem as he slowly sat up, letting just a hint of smugness creep onto his face. Xane grumbled louder, xir face flushing just a bit more.

“Did you enjoy that?” Marth asked, innocently, batting his eyelids for effect - Xane groaned, and scowled.

“Yeah. Fuckin’, yeah, fine. I enjoyed that. You've got some nice arms there, y’know that, right, Princey?”

Marth put a hand to his face in amazement, as though that was the first time anyone had ever said anything of the sort to him - and even though it wasn't, it still felt rather special, coming from Xane.


End file.
